Resumen
Resumen de Cuentos populares sudafricanos
Para quién es
For readers who love fables, animal tricksters and stories told around a fire, and for anyone curious about the oral traditions of southern Africa, or looking for tales to read aloud to others.
De qué trata este libro
Picture a jackal lying in the road, playing dead, while a wagon driver orders him tossed in with the fish. South-African Folk-Tales gathers short animal stories and origin tales from the peoples of southern Africa. James A. Honey sets them on the page in plain, brisk prose. The same few animals return again and again: the jackal, the lion, the hare, the tortoise and the baboon. Together they show a world where the small and clever outwit the big and proud, and where one wrong word can change everything.
En este resumen
- 1Origins, lost messages and a magic fiddleFree
- 2The small and sly outwit the strong
- 3Jackal, Lion and the rope
- 4Drought, water and who may drink
- 5Short fables and why animals look as they do
- 6Lion, the Sun, the Moon and the coming of death
Idea clave 1 de 6
Origins, lost messages and a magic fiddle
The collection opens with two men at the beginning of time. One is blind and the other is always hunting. The blind man builds a kraal, a thorn fence, once he regains his sight. The other tries to copy him and is burned. That, the tale says, is how the Bushmen and the Hottentots came to live differently.
In The Lost Message, the ants meet in council because many hunters threaten them. Some want a hole in the ground, some a sturdy house, some want wings. Each group goes its own way, and none guards itself well. The Insect King sends the secret of unity by the Beetle, which has never arrived.
Then Monkey works for his great-uncle and is paid with a fiddle that makes everyone dance. The tale turns on the power of music to make everyone dance.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about Cuentos populares sudafricanos
What is South-African Folk-Tales about?
It is a collection of short animal tales and origin stories from southern Africa. Jackal, Lion, Hare, Tortoise and Baboon outwit one another, and other tales explain why animals look as they do and how death began.
Who is Jackal in these stories?
Jackal is the trickster. He is small, quick and sly, and he deceives bigger animals like Lion and Wolf with lies, flattery and clever plans. Sometimes his tricks are punished, and sometimes they win.
Are these tales true or invented?
They are traditional oral tales passed down by the peoples of southern Africa, not history. They explain the world with humor. Honey's book writes them down in English, with sources from earlier travelers and scholars.
Is South-African Folk-Tales easy to read?
Most tales are short, and the language is plain and direct.
What is the main message of the tales?
Wit often beats strength, and boasting and greed bring trouble. Many tales also teach that fair judges check the facts, and that one changed word can carry lasting consequences.